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Motorhead guitarist Fast Eddie Clarke dead at 67

Photo of MOTORHEAD; Portrait of Fast Eddie Clarke backstage with guitars, circa 1980. Clarke died at age 67 in London.

LONDON

Fast Eddie Clarke, a former member of the British rock band Motorhead, has died at age 67.

The New York Times reported that the death of the guitarist in the best-known lineup of the band was confirmed by manager Todd Singerman.

Clarke was being treated for pneumonia in a London hospital Wednesday when he died.

“We are devastated to pass on the news we only just heard ourselves earlier tonight...Edward Allan Clarke - or as we all know and love him Fast Eddie Clarke - passed away peacefully yesterday,” a post on the Motorhead Facebook page said. “Ted Carroll (who formed Chiswick Records) made the sad announcement via his FB page, having heard from Doug Smith that Fast Eddie passed peacefully in hospital where he was being treated for pneumonia.”

Past members of the band reacted to the news, as did Metallica co-founder Lars Ulrich and others in the rock music community.

“Just heard the sad news that fast Eddie Clarke has passed away,” Phil Campbell, who was the guitarist in Motorhead from 1984 to 2015, said in a statement. “Such a shock, he will be remembered for his iconic riffs and was a true rock n roller. RIP Eddie.”

“Thank you for the riffs. Thank you for the solos. Thank you for the attitude. Thank you for being in the coolest band,” Ulrich said on Twitter Thursday. “Thank you for inspiring me to go down the same path.”

Clarke was the last living member of the band’s original lineup, which was pointed out in a statement from Mikkey Dee, who was a drummer for Motorhead from 1992 to 2015 and is currently a drummer for the German rock band Scorpions.

“This is terrible news, the last of the three amigos. I saw Eddie not too long ago and he was in great shape, so this is a complete shock,” Dee said. “Me and Eddie always hit it off great. I was looking forward to seeing him in the U.K. this summer when we come around with the Scorps…now Lem and Philthy can jam with Eddie again, and if you listen carefully I’m sure you’ll hear them, so watch out!!! My thoughts go out to Eddie's family and close ones.”

Clarke, born Edward Allen Clark, joined the first iteration of Motorhead in 1976 with bassist Lemmy, whose real name was Ian Fraser Kilmister, and drummer Phil Taylor. Taylor died in November 2015 at age 61, Kimlister died at age 70 in December 2015.

After leaving Motorhead, he formed the hard rock group Fastway in 1983. The group issued its condolences on Twitter.

“We have lost a legend,” Fastway said in a tweet Thursday. “Our thoughts are with his family and friends. He will be sorely missed.”

All of us at Fastway HQ are absolutely heartbroken to have to post this - we have lost a legend.

Our thoughts are with his family and friends. He will be sorely missed.